Lakes Of Udaipur: A Traveller’s Treat

Udaipur is known as the city of lakes. It houses ten lakes, to be exact. Touristic-ally interesting ones include Lake Pichola, Fateh Sagar Lake and Udai Sagar (literal translation: sagar = lake).

The lakes keep Udaipur cooler than its surrounding areas, and make it a great place to escape the Rajasthani summers. Below are my favorite lakes of Udaipur.

The Lake Palace at night

Lake Pichola and its islands

While Lake Pichola is gorgeous blue and green in the day, it is a completely different sparkling wine and romance vibe under a waning moon in the perpetually clear night skies of Udaipur. Although Pichola houses the famous Lake Palace heritage hotel, my personal favourite is the Fathesagar Lake.

Pichola houses two islands, both of remarkable beauty. First one is the Jagniwas Island, housing the former summer residence of Maharaja Jagat Singh II, now converted to a thriving luxury hotel, The Lake Palace.

The Lake Palace built at Jagniwas Island, Lake Pichola

The second island is called Jagmandir Island, whose beauty allegedly inspired the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to build the Taj Mahal. The island has an enormous chatri carved out of blue-grey stone, while a row of carved elephants stand sentential, making great silhouettes on a sunset sky.

Jagmandir Island, Lake Pichola

A boat ride around Lake Pichola will take you to both the islands.

Lake Fateh Sagar

A scenic, quiet feature of Udaipur, Fateh Sagar is a 50 Rs auto Rikshaw ride from the main market, which lies at the city center. A local lover’s haunt, the lake houses a garden island, known as Nehru Park. Take an evening walk by the bank of Fathesagar, and witness the sun sinking into mountain peak behind. It is a sight of magic.

Sunset at Lake Fatehsaga

Canoeing and kayaking camps have been started at Lake Fatehsagar.

There is a lot more to Udaipur than its lakes. The city houses palaces and forts of old, museums, and a number of chilled out terrace cafes near Pichola with breezy views of the lake. Read more about Udaipur here.